The Philippines: The most dangerous land on the planet By JOE AMERICA October 26, 2013 1:25pm Other lands are better at destruction with bombs and guns, but the Philippines occupies the most dangerous land. Indeed, the Philippines does battle with God. And He can smite awesomely. The Philippines ranks number one in the world for deaths caused by natural disasters. Last year, 2,360 people lost their lives in the Philippines due to natural disasters. China, in second place, was way back with 771. It was the same story in 2011. This year is again proving to be on a similar scale of grief. You read the headlines as well as I do. We grow numb to the body count. It is so relentless. Well, we understand that the Philippines is situated at the dead center of Typhoon Alley. It rests on the unstable “Ring of Fire” where volcanoes blast forth magma from the Earth’s core, and rides earthquake prone tectonic plates as they slip against one another. It’s the most dynamic location on the planet, bar none, positively terrifying if you think too much about it. But does that not mean we should be taking special care in strewing flimsy bamboo shacks across the muddy slopes of hills and drainage channels? [One of my blogs readers] Jocelyn, asked me to examine why the Philippines is so vulnerable to natural disasters. It has turned into a fascinating project. Educational, for sure. The short answer is that, as in many things, the Philippine response is short-term reactive rather than long-term pre-planned. The lengthier answer follows. But let me say the single most important answer is the attitude one takes, the approach, the organization, the effort, and the COMMITMENT made to fight this battle as if it were a battle.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Nov 2013 21:36:04 +0000
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